"It contains elements of football, soccer and basketball," says Steve Jutton, an organizer with a Greenville league that plays Sundays at the Pavilion.

"You run similar to how you run in soccer, the field is laid out like a football field and you have to get from one side to the other just like football. There's a lot of basketball type moves, defensive moves especially. Like soccer also there's no line of scrimmage, the play is continuous until somebody scores."

While players can be substituted out when they are tired, a player covers every position, both offense and defense.

First-time player Rusty Lay admitted when he took a break that he was not physically prepared for the game.

"I'm out of shape," Lay says.

Created in Maplewood, N.J., in 1968 as a freeform sport with no referees, no scoreboard and no captain, Ultimate is a popular recreational sport worldwide.

"The sport was started by a group of kids that did not like the mentality of mainstream sports," Jutton says.

"After I started playing for a few weeks, I couldn't stop, I was hooked," Brian Joyner says. "I would not trade this for anything."

The Greenville group started in 1996 and hopes to start a formal league through the county.

Ultimate is a populist game - all are welcome.

No one will be turned away because they aren't athletic or because they don't understand the game.

When Rebecca Hayes comes from Lander to join in on a Sunday game for the first time, Jutton and Parsons tell her she can get on the field in minutes. The same goes for anyone who wants to participate. For now there are no forms to fill or uniforms to buy.

"It doesn't matter how much skill you have. You can really come out here and find your niche," Joyner says.

In order to play coed at tournaments, there must be two women on each team. But at Sunday pick-up games there is no minimum.

Jenny Sharpe, usually the only woman at the pick-up games, says that everyone on the team plays fair and she probably worries more about playing with men than the men do.

"I am concerned about his fragile ego, I think 'Oh, he's probably hurt that I'm guarding him.' "

The flying disc
What makes Ultimate unique is the one element needed to play the game. A Frisbee.

"The disc moves so slowly, that you have so much control over it, that you can throw it many different ways, there's not just one way to throw it which makes it interesting," says Mark Parson.

It is also something that adds a creative aspect to the game, David Penniston says.

"No two throws are the same. You have to throw around people and create a play every time," he says.

Ultimate rules

1. The Field - A rectangular shape with endzones at each end. A regulation field is 70 yards by 40 yards, with end zones 25 yards deep.

2. Initiate Play - Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective endzone line. The defense throws the disc to the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team.

3. Scoring - Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's endzone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.

4. Movement of the Disc - The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc. The person with the disc has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower counts out the stall count.

5. Change of possession - When a pass in not completed the defense immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.

6. Substitutions - Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury timeout.

7. Non-contact - No physical contact is allowed between players. A foul occurs when contact is made.

8. Fouls - When a player initiates contact on another player a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.

9. Self-Refereeing - Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes.

10. Spirit of the Game - Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules and the basic joy of play.